Liberia national nutrition survey : Dec., 1975 to March, 1976

The project seeks to identify Liberian geographical areas and population groups most in need of nutritional aid. The report"s introductory section briefly reviews the Liberian malnutrition problem and summarizes past efforts to alleviate it. It next provides background information on physical conditions, population, and food supply in Liberia. The indices of malnutrition (height for age, weight for age, arm measurement) used in conducting this study are also delineated in the introductory section. The next section describes the survey design, providing information on sampling methods and a map of test sites. Field methods and project components are also explained in detail; these include personel training, transport, communication, hemoglobin estimation, and data preparation. The following section provides survey results estimating nutritional status according to age and geographical area and discusses the prevalence of PCM, anemia, and kwashiorkor. The study also investigates the possible significance of variables such as birth order, household size, and parents" age and occupations. The report includes extensive apppendices which provide supplementary data on sampling populations, testing procedures, and survey questionnaires.